Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2011, 8:25
doi:10.1186/1550-2783-8-25

Published: 29 December 2011

Abstract

Background

It is known that supplement use is a widespread and accepted practice by athletes
and people who attend commercial gyms. Little is known about protein supplement amongst
people undertaking strength training in commercial gyms in Italy when compared to
the US.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of protein supplementation, alone
or in association with other supplements, and dietary behavior amongst regular fitness
center attendees in Palermo, Italy.

Design

Resistance training information have been collected from 800 regular fitness center
attendees for the initial analysis. A specific questionnaire was generated for the
experimentation. Data were collected using a face-to-face interview method. Supplement
users were then compared to the non users and analyzed using a one-way ANOVA, Kruskall-Wallis,
chi-square test or exact test of Fisher when appropriate.

Results

30.1% of the respondents use dietary supplements during their training as a believe
it is the "way to gain muscles and strength". Whey protein shakes (50.0%) mixed with
creatine and amino-acids (48.3%) were the most frequent choices amongst the users.
A majority of the subjects (34.0%) appeared to rely on their gym instructors' advice
for their intake; a lower proportion (13.0%) consulted physicians, while none of them
consulted nutritionists. A high consumption of milk has been noticed in both users
(67,7%) and non-users (52,8%); supplement non-users consumed significantly more snacks
and bakery products than users per week (P < 0.001), while users consumed significantly
more protein-rich foods (P < 0.01) with a particular preference for meat (48.0%).

Conclusions

A considerable number of regular strength training adepts consume protein supplements
mixed with other products (mainly creatine and amino-acids). Limited numbers consult
"dietary specialists" and rely mainly on their instructors. We emphasize on the importance
of the dissemination of scientifically based information about supplementation in
this environment and the promotion of updated educational programs for the instructors.